Gods, all five of them

My husband and I run every other morning in Jahanpanah City Forest. The trail is 6.7km long and has milestones every 200 metres. I have now hit 5km nonstop. To complete a 2.2km round (because there are gates between 2 and 2.2km that are shut after 10am and I never make it here before that time) I run along a lane linking the 2,000m stone to the 200m one — a distance slightly less than 400m. There being no markers along this path, I count this distance as 200m in my mind. This calculation was proved wrong by my husband who took me through the paces between the stones to make his point. It didn’t make a difference. My 5K is done only when I pass the 1,000m stone thrice. I can only motivate myself in round figures.

A milestone is sacred to a runner. It is where she vests her dream and her pain. Just as a textbook is supposed to be to a pupil, and indeed it does go on to occupy a pride of place in our minds as we grow older when bits of knowledge come together to shape the way we understand the world. Have you seen young shuttlers pay a quick ‘namo‘ to the cock after accidentally stepping on it or footballers touch the ball to their forehead before kick-off?

Now there are a few things in life that we as human beings have learned to feel real respect for; that are worth respecting and not only because what you give for them they give back to you many times more. It’s because if you slip up, you will not escape retribution from them in one form or another. And though some of us resent it, it is always we who transgress their boundaries and flout their laws which are far more consistent than ours ever can be. A list.

The printed word. More authentic as it must pass set standards of credibility, lending itself easily to scholarship owing to its flexibility and having empires and industries to ensure continuity of its production and quality as compared to internet enterprises run by individual editors, the printed word, be it in the form of newspaper or magazine or book or journal, has influenced our childhoods. A considerable part of our cultural universe and a tiny part of our opinions, no doubt, at least the part in which ideas come into play, are formed by our first interactions with the printed word. We continue to rely on it when in need of information about some completely unknown concept or entity. Criticize it without rationale or restraint and you eschew knowledge.

Drugs. Whether prescription or of the narcotic variety, they make changes to your body and brain. Listen to your body, say doctors, but Indian parents seem to have blown this simple maxim out of proportion. They try to listen to their children’s bodies and, since that is physically impossible, encourage them to complain about every little indisposition, then self-medicate in name of prudence and discipline in the household. Exercise becomes taboo, overeating is the norm, pyschosomatic stresses abound and the children are whining, sickly and unhappy. The solution? Say no to compulsive pill popping. Listen to your body.

Mountains. My uncle who died in a climbing accident loved to quote George Mallory, the mountaineering great who, when asked why he wanted to climb Everest, famously said: Because it’s there. Another, more accomplished mountaineer of my uncle’s friend circle, who also gave his life to the peaks, told his interviewer: When I go to the mountains, I carry death in my backpack. Nothing challenges your limits yet expands them like trekking up a mountain. A mountain will accommodate a climber of any ability. But you have to heed its warnings and calls. It will then surprise you with sudden vistas, strange flora, wonderful factoids about the surroundings and bountiful experiences. If you are lucky, it may also give you what may be called a ‘good death’. An obituary described my uncle as best known for nurturing the passion for climbing among trainees.

The road. Yes, it takes you where you want to go. And makes up the cityscape. If you love your city, the sight of a familiar crossing after years will make your heart well up just as it might when you see an old friend. But disobey its laws at risk of limb and life. Hence it is that Kolkata autowallahs are heard advising their juniors, respect the bigger vehicle, give him right of way, and journalists live by the rule, whatever happens on the road stays on it.

Verbs. Choose your verb. Do rather than Tell. Say what you Think. See the meaning linking matters. Hear what your heart Says. Read. Write. Learn. Play. Question. Find. Endure. Prefer respect to love. It lasts longer. Respect those who Look up to you. Care. Live.